Shirly (pronounced – Sheer- Lee) Brener is already
a known celebrity in her homeland. Born in Haifa
and raised in London
and Los Angeles, she is well on her way as a rising
film star. This modern day Renaissance woman has
a diverse career as an actress, producer and host
as well as ventures as an art historian, writer
and philanthropist.
Her breakthrough role came opposite Henry Thomas
in the comedy Highjacking Hollywood and
since then she has been compared to a young Michelle
Pfeiffer, Meg Ryan or Goldie Hawn, Brener embodies
the essence of a Hollywood IT girl with her talent,
charm, humor, edge and confidence.
Since 2005 has completed over 20 projects booking
job after job and traveling the US
and the world working alongside great actors and
directors. She is known to be wide ranged from a
romantic lead to an accented (Shirly has an ability
to do many dialects and accents) hooker or drug
addict. Her outgoing personality, sense of humor
and a super professional attitude on the set and
approach has some of the creative teams hiring her
over again.
Most recently on location in Connecticut, acting in the much anticipated
Jon Avnet (Fried Green Tomatoes) cop drama,
Righteous Kill, starring
no less than- Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The
film is set to be released by Overture Films, later
in 2008. Other roles include but
not limited to: War Inc, playing John
Cusack’s wife and also starring Academy award winners
Ben Kingsley and Marisa Tomei as well as Hillary
Duff -shot on location in Eastern
Europe and produced by New Crime Productions
(High Fidelity). Shirly , who is described
by her friends as hilarious, is showing her funny
side and romantic comedy appeal in films like Bill
starring Jessica Alba and Aaron Eckhart, produced
by GreenStreet Films ( In the Bedroom), Employee
of the Month with Jessica Simpson
Dane Cook and Andy Dick directed by Greg
Coolidge , produced by Tapestry Films (Wedding
Crashers) and LionsGate.. Very anticipated is
the indie Letting Go, where Shirly
plays her favorite character to date as the dysfunctional
April who is a psychologically challenged designer
hooked on prescription medication, she stars as
the lead opposite Bokeem Woodbine, Sam Golzari and
Christopher Knight, directed by award winning Jake
Torem to premiere in 2008 at SlamDance and
Tribeca film festivals. Also the Israeli
Crime Drama- homage to the Godfather- Honor
(KAVOD) in which she plays an undercover
cop and a supporting-lead in the psychological -thriller Session, starring Steven Bauer (Scar Face) which she is a Producer
on too, both directed by festival acclaimed -Haim
Bouzaglo.
Securing a path in higher education as well, Shirly
graduated with honors- on the Dean’s List- from
the University of Southern California with
a degree in Art History and a minor in Film Critical
Studies. She then got accepted after to the Masters
of Business Administration program at Pepperdine
University.
While in school, Shirly never let her acting ambitions
down, and managed book and shoot in such films as
The Gray Zone, directed by Tim Blake
Nelson opposite Mira Sorvino and Harvey Kietel,
by Killer Films and LionsGate, Blind Horizon
starring Val Kilmer, Sam Shepard and Faye
Danway (was in the official selection of South
by Southwest) and Shadow of Fear
opposite James Spader and Aidan Quinn..
Other projects she completed were the Weinstein
Co. The Killing Grounds (aka Children of Wax)
as a Lead opposite Armand Assante and Udo Kier playing
a German Neo Nazi girl, directed by European award
winning Ivan Nichev and produced by legendary producer
Menahem Golan, and a supporting role in the Steven
Seagal film Mercenary for Justice,
playing a field reporter in an actions filled film
and another Lead for the Sci Fi Channel, in Petrified.
(Directed by cult followed – Charles Band).
Not leaving her passion for theater behind, Shirly
also just completed a very edgy supporting role
in the play – “Eccentric”, at the
RipRap Theater in NoHo, which won rave reviews (pick
of the week) and is nominated for an LA WEEKLY Award.
Her career began at age 2 doing commercials for
Merci Chocolate in both France and Germany, at 15
she was accepted to the prestigious theatrical performing
arts department of Beverly Hills High School acting
in such productions as “The Life and Adventures
of Nicholas Nickleby” and “The Pirates
of Penzance”. She later went on to act in
local community and college theater with leading
roles in “The Heidi Chronicles” and
“It Had to be You”.
Juggling a career in 2 continents, she became
a series regular on the popular Ramat Aviv
(show was a smash hit, much like The OC),
the host of the popular MTV- Singled Out
and a supporting-lead in the Israeli Academy Award
winner film- Mr. Baum. Stardom became
synonymous to Brener and she recurred on shows,
did Guest Stars, hosted a variety of shows and her
name and face were used for product endorsements
such as “Burger King”, the “Milk Company”, “Planet
Hollywood” and others.
Maintaining her career abroad, she regularly hosts
shows and does entertainment news reporting for
E! Entertainment and Y BE 10(like Access Hollywood).
Producing films has always been a sought after
pursuit, most recently Shirly was able to put together
her first full length feature film – the psychological
suspense thriller- Session, starring
Steven Bauer(ScarFace, Traffic) . She has a major
role in the film too. Before which she Exec produced
the short –Shoot starring Jonathan
Silverman and Nikky Six
and 2 documentary films both of which she produced,
directed, wrote, shot and co-edited. One about her
father (a famous sport figure) - Danny the
Golden Fish and another about abstract expressionist
LA based artist (her hubby) - Bruce Rubenstein.
Shirly has several other projects in development
like the films Doves in a Blizzard,
The Gatewood Project, Pawn
and a TV reality show.
Brener studies regularly in the
Advanced scene study class at the prestigious Beverly
Hills Playhouse (she calls it the LA version
of the legendary “Actor’s Studio” in NY) under the
renowned- Milton Katselas. Also one of Brener’s
coaches is Danny Mora (teacher of George Lopez,
Jennifer Coolidge and Jay Hernandez), a former stand
up comic, he has helped her with sitcom and improve
techniques.
Her writing can be read in a monthly column in
Shavua Israeli (Israeli Week) in LA, which
is titled :”Café Latte with Shirly Brener”,
in which she writes about her life, fashion, entertainment,
being a Mom and Wife etc. She also
writes poetry both in Hebrew and English, which
she hopes to publish some day.
Shirly loves her supportive family and friends
and is always deeply committed and dedicated to
them as well as helping them and other people around
her.
She is adding charity and volunteer work to her
always fully loaded schedule. Her work in organizations
such as Narconon, Gan Hayeled, Yad Beyad, Reading
Writing Its Exciting, The Haifa Foundation and Living
Beauty are a testament to her giving nature.
Always on the go, Brener is an avid athlete and
adventurous sports aficionado, she practices Bikram
Yoga weekly and enjoys outdoor activities such as
snow- skiing, water skiing and wind surfing as well
as hiking, tennis and, of course, regular workouts.
In her downtime she enjoys traveling to exotic
locals such as Africa, Greece, Bulgaria,
Jamaica as well as frequenting art exhibitions and
museums around the world as well as cooking creative
recipes for her always welcomed family and guests
while compiling ideas for a future cookbook
Shirly credits her spiritual path as well as her
supportive family and friends to her success, well-
being, courage, tenacity, love, happiness, and positive
attitude. |
